High Tech Outdoors shows how technology can make outdoor adventures safer and easier. You'll use apps to check weather and learn knots, then think up your own gear improvements. Who knows, you could invent the next great camping gadget.
Why it's worth it
A weather app can warn you about a storm hours before you'd see it, and today's tents weigh a fraction of what tents did a few decades ago. In this adventure you'll use technology to plan an outing and learn a knot, then compare old gear with new and invent an improvement of your own. Maybe your idea ends up in a Scout's pack someday.
Start this week
- With your adult, check the hourly forecast for your next outing and decide what to bring.
- Ask your adult to help you find a knot-tying app and learn one new knot.
- Ask an older camper or grandparent what camping gear was like when they were young.
Requirements · 4
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
With an adult, check a weather app or website for the forecast for an outdoor activity and talk about how to prepare for that weather
Tip: With an adult, check a weather app before an outing and decide what to bring or change.
For example: If the forecast shows 40 percent rain after 2 p.m., your plan might be: start the hike early, pack rain jackets and a tarp, and set a turnaround time. Check again the morning you leave.
- Requirement 2
With an adult, find a knot-tying app, choose a knot from it, and learn to tie it with the app's help
Tip: Use a knot-tying app with an adult and practice the knot until you can tie it without looking.
For example: Use an app to learn the taut-line hitch, then practice it on a tent guyline until you can tie it without the app. Show your patrol how it lets you tighten a line that sags.
- Requirement 3
Talk about how technology has made camping gear better
Tip: Compare old and new gear, like heavy canvas tents and light modern ones. Ask an older camper.
For example: Old tents were heavy canvas with wooden poles; today's use light nylon and aluminum poles. Sleeping bags, water filters, headlamps, and rain gear have all changed too. Pick one and compare.
- Requirement 4
Come up with a way technology could improve camping gear you use on one of your outdoor activities
Tip: Draw your idea for better gear, like a smarter water bottle or warmer sleeping bag.
For example: Draw your idea and label it: a water bottle that shows how much you've drunk today, a tent stake that glows so no one trips, or a sleeping pad that warns you when it's losing air.
Talk about it together
- How did checking the weather change your plans?
- Was learning a knot from an app easier or harder than from a person?
- What piece of gear do you think has changed the most?
- What problem outdoors would you most like to solve with technology?
Helpful reads
- Cub Scouts: a guide for families, How Cub Scout ranks and adventures work from kindergarten through fifth grade, what an adult partner does, and how to keep it fun at meetings and at home., Families · Leaders · 4 min read
- From Arrow of Light to a troop, What changes when you join a Scouts BSA troop, how to visit and choose one, good questions to ask, and how to make your first year a great one., Youth · Families · 4 min read
For leaders & parents
- Bring old and new gear side by side to spark ideas.
- Let scouts present their invention ideas to the patrol.
People & places that can help
- National Weather Service (opens in a new tab) — Reliable forecasts for planning outings.
- Local outdoor gear store — See the newest camping gear up close.
- NOAA Weather Safety (opens in a new tab) — How to stay safe in storms, lightning, heat, and cold.
- Owlie Skywarn (opens in a new tab) — Weather safety games and activities for kids from the National Weather Service.
Pairs well with
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Into this? Explore more
Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.